Also, Kate wanted to see her succeed. Graphic design was clearly her passion, and seeing her doing what she loved to do lifted Kate’s spirits as well.
“Thanks,” Sandy said, leaning in to hug Kate. When she did, she dropped her voice, so no one else could hear. “And just in case you were wondering, it’s totally worth it.”
Kate didn’t think she was talking about revamping the website.
As Kate and Chris headed back down the mountain toward Sumneyville, she felt a level of contentment she hadn’t felt in ages. Part of it could be attributed to what was quite possibly the best orgasm she’d ever had. The man knew how to use his tongue and fingers to provide maximum satisfaction. Bonus: he also responded well to physical cues and didn’t seem to mind her boldness in letting him know what she wanted. Some guys took personal offense if a woman tried to nudge them in the right direction, viewing it as an insult. Not Chris. In fact, Kate thought he liked it.
The rest of her contentment came from the feeling of being accepted and appreciated. Not that most people weren’t nice to her, but when they were, it was usually because she’d done something nice for them. True, she had helped with dinner, but they’d been kind and welcoming before that, too.
The hardest part of the day was having to say good-bye to Chris. After they got the dogs back inside her house and situated, their good-bye kiss lasted close to half an hour. There might have been some heavy petting involved, too, but once again, Chris applied the brakes before Kate could coax him into something more.
The good news was, she thought she was wearing him down, chipping away at that steel-reinforced self-control he had. She did so enjoy a challenge.
Their make-out session might have gone even longer if her house phone hadn’t started ringing. She’d turned off her cell phone for the day, knowing, if she hadn’t, her mother and sister would have been calling and texting all day. To say that they weren’t exactly thrilled with her choice to forgo yet another family dinner to spend the day at Sanctuary was an understatement.
The ringing stopped and then started up again almost immediately. The house phone was one of the really old models, so she didn’t have it hooked up to an answering machine. Ninety-nine percent of the calls were telemarketers or robocalls anyway, but she liked the security of having a landline, just in case.
“You should probably get that,” Chris said, sighing and leaning his forehead against hers.
“I know, but I don’t want to.”
He kissed the tip of her nose and reached for his coat.
“Text me later, okay?”
“I will,” he promised.
“And, if you want to include another picture, I wouldn’t be opposed.”
He chuckled. “Same.”
Kate watched him get into his truck and drive away, the sense of loss even greater than before. When he left, it felt as if he had taken a part of her with him, too. Saying he completed her seemed like such a romantic cliché, but she was beginning to understand what that meant.
It didn’t matter that they hadn’t known each other long. What mattered was how she felt when she was with him.
She went into the kitchen to make some tea and summon the courage to turn on her cell phone and check her messages.
Her mother had been beside herself all week, telling her a hundred reasons she shouldn’t spend the day at Sanctuary, ranging from, “What will the neighbors say?” to, “A man can only be pushed so far.”
Kate knew the “man” she had been referring to was Luther. In her mother’s mind, he was the perfect husband. Strong local roots, Hollywood handsome, well-liked, had his own successful business—even if that business had been handed to him on a silver platter. She couldn’t understand why Kate wasn’t falling at his feet in gratitude that he’d chosen her.
Which was pretty insulting and kind of hurtful, really.
When Kate had tried to explain that she didn’t love Luther, her mother’s response had been, “Life isn’t a romance novel, Kate. Be smart. Make good choices.”
When Kate had told her she didn’t think a man who cheated was a good choice, she’d said, “It’s not like you have a lot of options.”
Funny, how Luther had said something so similar.
Kate loved her mother, she really did, but part of her wished that just once, Beth Handelmann would forget about appearances and what everyone else thought and trust her daughter to make her own choices and then support her when she did. Kate knew what made her happy. And she shouldn’t have to settle for anything less.
Kate was just pouring the hot water into her mug and about to dive in when there was a knock at the door. It was Luther. Again. If his thunderous expression was any indication, he was in a mood. She assumed her mother had told him where Kate was when he showed up for Sunday dinner.
Well, Kate was in a mood, too—a good one—and she had no intention of letting him ruin it with one of his tantrums.
“What do you want, Luther?”
He shouldered his way through the door. “What the hell, Kate? Don’t you check your messages?”
“Usually but not today,” she said calmly.
“Well, maybe you should have because while you were with your new friends, your father had a heart attack!”
It was as if the floor had suddenly dropped out from beneath her feet, and an icy chill washed over her. Luther couldn’t have said what she thought he had. Her father wasn’t that old. He wasn’t sick.
“What? No!” Then, she asked the question that could destroy her world. “Is he ...”
Luther’s jaw clenched. “He’s at the hospital now, in stable condition. Your mom and your sister are with him.”
Kate grabbed her coat. “Let’s go.”
~ * ~
When they arrived at the hospital, a kind woman at the registration desk informed them that her father had been taken to a room in the cardiac care unit on the fourth floor. Kate couldn’t feel her feet as Luther led her to the bank of elevators. She could feel her stomach though. It was roiling, threatening to spill its contents at any moment.
Fear gripped her heart in a tight fist as they made their way down the brightly lit hallway, the familiar hospital scents exacerbating her nausea. She tried to prepare herself, but she wasn’t sure that was possible.
When they entered the room, her father was sitting up in bed. Other than being paler than usual, he seemed none the worse for wear. The fist in her chest loosened ever so slightly. She was vaguely aware of her mother sitting beside the bed and her sister on her phone in the corner, but the majority of Kate’s attention was on her father.
“Daddy.”
He offered her a weary smile. “Hey, Katy-belle. Can you believe all this fuss over a little indigestion?” He lifted his forearm, where several IV lines were attached. A series of wires hooked to high-def monitors peeked out of his white-and-blue-checked hospital-issued gown.
Kate carefully hugged him so as not to dislodge any of the connections. “Indigestion? They told me you had a ...” Cold fear gripped her again.
“He did,” her mother said, her voice rough and her eyes puffy.
“Now, now, Beth,” her father chided softly, “we don’t know that yet.”
She sniffed. “I know. You work too hard. You don’t take care of yourself. You are under too much stress and ...”